I saw all these great companies that hadn't been able to raise as much funding as they wanted to, but still had incredible technology and incredible team. So I thought, you know, there should be an investment bank out there that helps them cut the burn a bit. And if they can find some strategic partners and grow their customer base, maybe they can continue to build a company or merge with another firm or get acquired. It seems like that experience has informed what you decided to do with playground global.
Molly is joined by Laurie Yoler as they dive into her early experiences in VC before discussing how she became the first investor in Tesla (1:45). Next, Laurie talks about her time at Qualcomm and Playground then they wrap with a discussion about AI and how Laurie’s investments were impacted by the pandemic (30:31).
(0:00) Jason kicks off the show
(1:45) Arriving in Venture
(7:36) Laurie’s first investments
(13:39) LinkedIn Jobs - Go to https://linkedIn.com/angel and post your first job for free.
(14:49) Investing in Tesla
(21:21) Prenuvo - Get $300 off at http://prenuvo.com/twist
(22:51) Raising money for a car company
(26:22) Finding strategic partners
(30:31) Laurie’s time at Qualcomm and autonomous vehicles
(37:11) Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub - Apply in 5 minutes for six figures in discounts at http://aka.ms/thisweekinstartups
(38:42) Joining Playground
(41:29) Leaf Logistics
(45:44) Benefitting from the pandemic
(48:54) Investing in AI
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FOLLOW Jason: https://linktr.ee/calacanis
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